Canadian NHL teams’ prospects to watch at men’s NCAA hockey tournament

March 26, 2021 c_admin NHL News Comments Off on Canadian NHL teams’ prospects to watch at men’s NCAA hockey tournament

Last weekend, college hockey star Daryl Watts and the Wisconsin Badgers won the NCAA women’s hockey championship, bringing another title to the hockey powerhouse.

Can the Badgers’ men’s squad follow their lead? This weekend marks the beginning of the NCAA men’s hockey championship tournament, with 16 teams entering the dance in four regions. As players hit the ice, NHL clubs will be watching to see how their prospects fare on the big stage.

Among the 16 teams vying for the title, 22 players are current prospects of Canadian NHL clubs. Here’s a closer look at some of the Canadian teams’ prospects to watch:

Note: It was announced on Thursday that Notre Dame, originally set to take on Boston College in the Albany Regional bracket this weekend, was forced to pull out of the tournament due to COVID protocols. Fighting Irish freshman Jake Boltmann, whose mid-practice draft moment last October went viral, would have been the Calgary Flames’ lone prospect competing at this year’s NCAA tournament.

EDMONTON OILERS

Matthew Cairns, D, University of Minnesota Duluth
Drafted: Round 3, 84th overall, 2016
Age: 22 (senior/graduate transfer)

After three years at Cornell, Cairns was able to graduate early and land at Minnesota-Duluth as a 2020-21 graduate transfer where he’s embraced a mentorship role for some of the program’s freshmen defencemen.

“Being a freshman, you’re coming in a little bit nervous about things and I’m happy to help them with everything,” Cairns told the Duluth News Tribune back in January. “I try to help them as much as I can.”

Bringing stability to the Bulldogs’ blue line is what Cairns does best. Not known for his offence, the 22-year-old has six assists through 26 games this year while posting a team-best plus-17 rating.

Dylan Holloway, C/LW, University of Wisconsin
Drafted: Round 1, 14th overall, 2020
Age: 19 (sophomore)

Oilers faithful with visions of Holloway growing into a do-it-all linemate for Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl should be really excited about Holloway’s development this season with the Badgers. Should they come out on top, Holloway will be a big part of that success.

The AJHL standout (40 goals and 88 points in 53 games as a 17-year-old!) and Canadian world junior forward has been turning heads as a sophomore at Wisconsin, and just last week was named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award (awarded annually to college hockey’s best men’s player).

After finding his footing as a freshman, Holloway has really hit his stride and currently ranks fourth in points among all Division-I players with 11 goals, 23 assists, and 34 points in 22 games (he missed the first eight games of the year while at Canada’s WJC camp). He really shone in February, tallying 17 points in eight games last month alone to tie his freshman season totals and earn national player of the month honours.

Skyler Brind’Amour, C, Quinnipiac
Drafted: Round 6, 177th overall, 2017
Age: 21 (sophomore)

The oldest son of Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, the Bobcats sophomore is billed as a strong skater, dependable faceoff guy, and responsible two-way player who is still developing his offensive game. After registering four goals and 13 points in 34 games as a freshman in 2019-20, he tallied two goals and 11 points in 28 games this year.

“I think he needs to get on the board a little more,” Rod Brind’Amour told Talia Goodman of The News & Observer earlier this month. “He worked a lot on his shot, so he needs to start trying to utilize that more.”

That being said, we know the offensive potential is there with moves like this:

Last spring, when things shut down in both college hockey and the NHL, the young Brind’Amour was able to skate with Hurricanes players Justin Williams, Andrei Svechnikov and Jaccob Slavin.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Cole Caufield, RW, University of Wisconsin
Drafted: Round 1, 15th overall, 2019
Age: 20 (sophomore)

Last March, the big question was whether Caufield was ready for the NHL. The speedy, shifty goal-scorer was coming off a freshman campaign that saw him score at a point-per-game pace through 36 contests.

One year, 30 NCAA games, 28 goals and 49 points later — not to mention, a world juniors gold with Team USA in there, too — that’s no longer a question. He’s ready.

College hockey’s leader in goals and points this year, and a back-to-back Big 10 scoring champ, is the frontrunner to land the Hobey Baker Award and is practically a fan favourite in Montreal already without having donned the Canadiens threads.

Caufield is a must-watch every time he hits the ice, and he’s likely to put on a show as he leads the top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers to the dance. It won’t be long until we see him in Montreal.

Jack Gorniak, C/LW, University of Wisconsin
Drafted: Round 4, 123rd overall, 2018
Age: 21 (junior)

Caufield’s teammate Gorniak got off to a really strong start this season and has been a solid middle-six presence for the Badgers. Gorniak is an intriguing prospect. What he lacks in pure skill he makes up for in penalty killing and board battles, though his stat line — six goals and 13 points — and his strong release hints at more offensive development to come.

Other Canadiens prospects at the dance: Luke Tuch, LW, Boston University; Blake Biondi, C, University of Minnesota Duluth; Arvid Henrikson, D, Lake Superior State.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Shane Pinto, C, University of North Dakota
Drafted: Round 2, 32nd overall, 2019
Age: 20 (junior)

Fresh off an excellent gold medal-winning world juniors outing that saw him lead Team USA in goals (four) and finish second in team points (seven), Pinto has been a force with the Fighting Hawks. The club’s captain tallied 15 goals in 26 games for the team’s goal-scoring title, ranking sixth in the category across all NCAA clubs and 10th in points.

In the process, he was named National Collegiate Hockey Conference player of the year (the first time a player has won it by unanimous decision), NCHC forward of the year, and NCHC defensive forward of the year, and was also named among the 10 Hobey Baker finalists announced last week. While he didn’t exactly emerge out of nowhere — he was NCHC rookie of the year in 2019-20 — his development this season has been incredibly impressive and should have Senators fans excited to see what he can do on the tournament stage… and maybe, soon after, on the NHL circuit should he make the jump this spring.

Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, University of North Dakota
Drafted: Round 1, 26th overall, 2018
Age: 20 (junior)

If you want a glimpse of the future of Ottawa’s blue line, just head on over to North Dakota. Three of Ottawa’s most promising defensive prospects are currently manning the Fighting Hawks’ blue line, and are looking more and more NHL-ready. It won’t be long until Bernard-Docker — coming off another strong season that saw him named the NCHC’s defensive defenceman of the year — makes the leap to the pros.

An upper-body injury during the conference tournament earlier this month saw him sidelined for most of the NCHC championship run, bringing to a halt an incredible run on points (as noted by Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, Bernard-Docker’s 11 points in eight games beginning Jan. 30 were the most of any other defender in the NCAA). While his status is not confirmed, it’s likely Bernard-Docker will be back in the lineup this weekend.

Jake Sanderson, D, University of North Dakota
Drafted: Round 1, 5th overall, 2020
Age: 18 (rookie)

The son of former NHLer Geoff Sanderson was the first defender off the board in October’s 2020 draft, and it’s no surprise why. A strong skater and elite puck-mover with an offensive skillset that’s only going to get better, he’s another blue-chip prospect for Ottawa’s blue line that’s bursting with potential.

Coming off a golden victory at the world juniors with Team USA, Sanderson registered a pair of goals and 14 points in 20 NCAA games as a rookie.

He was excellent throughout the Fighting Hawks’ NCHC tournament en route to winning it, and will be fun to watch as North Dakota enters the big dance this weekend.

Tyler Kleven, D, University of North Dakota
Drafted: 2020 round 2 #44 overall by Ottawa Senators
Age: 19 (rookie)

Another UND defender, another promising Sens prospect.

Kleven may not boast the kind of puck-moving finesse of his UND teammates, but he certainly brings the size and the booming slap shot. With five goals in 20 NCAA games as a rookie, he’ll likely get more comfortable unleashing it.

Other Senators prospects at the dance: Jonny Tychonick, D, University of Nebraska-Omaha; Todd Burgess, C/RW, Minnesota State; Luke Loheit, RW, University of Minnesota Duluth

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Mike Koster, D, University of Minnesota
Drafted: Round 5, 146th overall, 2019
Age: 19 (freshman)

It’ll be a while before there’s any talk of seeing Koster in a Leafs sweater, but the club has to be more than comfortable with his progression so far in a strong hockey program like Minnesota’s.

As a rookie, the rearguard registered three goals and 12 points in 29 games and was named to the Golden Gophers’ Big Ten All-Tournament Team after emerging victorious over the powerhouse Badgers.

Veeti Miettinen, RW, St. Cloud State
Drafted: Round 6, 168th overall, 2020
Age: 19 (freshman)

After dominating in the Finnish junior league last year, Miettinen led his St. Cloud State teammates in points (23) as a rookie and earned NCHC rookie-of-the-year honours for his efforts.

He fits in well with the Maple Leafs’ penchant for slight, shifty players, and could be a fun player to watch as he progresses — not to mention a steal as a sixth-rounder should he continue on this trajectory.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Jacob Truscott, D, University of Michigan
Drafted: Round 5, 144th overall, 2020
Age: 18 (freshman)

It’ll be a little while yet before we see Truscott, who spent the past two years in the U.S. National Team Development Program system, in Canucks threads but the NCAA tournament could serve as a valuable opportunity to get a first real glimpse of what he can do as a freshman.

As Canucks fans know, Michigan has a strong track record when it comes to defenders. And while the intention here is certainly not to draw a comparison between Truscott and Wolverines alum Quinn Hughes, it’ll no doubt be interesting to watch Vancouver’s fifth-rounder develop in Ann Arbour.

WINNIPEG JETS

Nathan Smith, C, Minnesota State (Mankato)
Drafted: Round 3, 91st overall, 2018
Age: 22 (sophomore)

Smith holds an interesting piece of hockey history: According to Lightning reporter Joe Smith, the forward is believed to be the first player selected from the Tampa Bay area, a success story of the Lightning’s efforts to introduce the game to many in the area.

Patience is the name of the game when it comes to Smith’s development. He took a longer path with a few extra stops to get his college hockey career started, and is now hitting his stride at Minnesota State. After tallying nine goals and 27 points in 35 games as a freshman last year, Smith put up five goals and 21 points with 10 fewer games this season.

Other Jets prospects at the dance: Harrison Blaisdell, C, University of North Dakota; Jared Moe, G, University of Minnesota.